Frothy Talk With A Splash Of Coffee
by nicky-ji
Summary: Buffy can't stop thinking about mystery man Angel. When she runs into him at the Coffee Shop she can't believe her luck. [ONESHOT][Set between episodes 1.06 The Pack and 1.07 Angel.]


Frothy Talk with A Splash of Coffee

Author: Nicky Ji.

Summary: Buffy can't stop thinking about mystery man Angel. When she runs into him at the Coffee Shop she can't believe her luck.  
Timeline: Set between episodes 1.06 The Pack and 1.07 Angel.  
Rating: G

It was only 8pm and Buffy had already finished her sweep of Sunnydale's demon hotspots. Even though it was May, she felt chilled from the night air and so had decided to buy a hot drink to warm her insides before heading back home and telling her mum another made up account of how she had had fun at the Bronze.

Buffy slipped into a cafe on Sunnydale's high street. It had cosy feel to it and attracted mostly young people. As Buffy queued ready to order a cafe mocha with a mountain of cream, she thought how unfair it was that all these people got to have fun while she got to slay instead.

Buffy reached the counter and ordered her drink. After a short wait, her order was ready and Buffy picked up her drink. As she took a small sip from her mug, Buffy turned around, her eyes scanning the cafe for an empty seat. Normally she would just drink her coffee on the walk home, but tonight she decided she could spare some time to pretend she had a normal life. Besides, the only thing waiting for her at home was an unfinished French assignment. Her eyes had just skimmed over three different couples when they fell on the man sitting by himself in the corner. He was wearing a short leather jacket over a wife-beater and staring intently at his mug. Buffy sauntered over and carefully leaned her hip against the table.

"That must be one amazing coffee. In fact that is the most gorgeous mug I've ever seen," Buffy quipped.

Angel looked up at her with surprise, his eyes containing a blank stare. "What?"

"Well you can't take your eyes off it." Buffy was uncomfortably aware of the blush rising up on her cheeks as she talked. "Sorry bad joke. Okay, maybe I should leave now."

"No. Stay. I'm bad at telling jokes too." Angel's lips quirked as he spoke. Giving him a slight smile, Buffy slid onto the chair opposite him.

Buffy peered into Angel's mug. It was plain, black coffee of which he seemed to have only drunk a few mouth fulls. No sooner than she had thought the words "you haven't drunk much," that they spilled out of Buffy's mouth before she could stop them.

Angel's gaze quickly flickered back down to his mug, before looking Buffy in the face. "You're right, I haven't," he replied. "I don't drink much coffee. It makes me jittery."

Buffy couldn't stop herself from asking: "Then why did you buy it?"

A wistful look washed over Angel's handsome features. "I felt like doing something normal people do."

"I'll drink to that!" Buffy declared, raising her mug as a mini toast.

A smile tugged at Angel's lips. Buffy watched as he lifted his mug to his lips and took a sip. Following his lead, Buffy drunk from her own mug. Feeling a comfortable warmth spread through her, she asked Angel what he had done that day. Angel placed his drink back down on the table and replied saying "nothing much". Shifting slightly in his seat, Angel asked her what she had done.

"You know, the usual. Went to school. Failed a maths test - my mum is so going to kill me over that. I have just done some patrolling. Amazingly it has been a slow night. I only had to dust one vamp, which in my world is a good thing."

"I think that's a good thing in anyone's world."

Buffy sat her coffee cup down hard on the table. "Yeah? Well how many other people have to balance saving the world with doing their homework?" Buffy said. "This is the first night this week that I'll actually have time to complete my school work." Angel stared at Buffy with sorrowful eyes. "Okay, I think that is enough of self pity for one night."

Feeling ashamed of her little outburst, Buffy looked away from Angel, silently noting the girl next to the counter eyeing up Angel. Buffy lifted her mug to her lips and downed half her of coffee in one gulp, causing her to cringe from the sudden heat in her throat.

"Why don't we talk about something else?" Angel said, obviously picking up on Buffy's unease. "How's Owen?"

Buffy glanced back up to see the stony look in Angel's eyes. A satisfied smile curved her lips. "Are you jealous of him?"

Angel bit out a "no" that Buffy immediately knew secretly meant "yes". Whilst she would have teased someone else, for example Xander, over such a thing, Buffy felt that with Angel she should just let it slide. She wanted him to view her as being mature and not just some girl in high school that tormented people over silly little things.

"As far as I know Owen's okay," Buffy replied. As Angel looked faintly confused, Buffy added, "We're not dating anymore."

Angel nodded, a strange look taking over his eyes for a second. "Relationships are hard. Especially when you have a secret to keep from everyone."

"Tell me about it."

Buffy stared down at her coffee and realised that she no longer wanted anymore of it.

"Hey Angel, you want to walk me home?"

On the walk back to her house, Buffy and Angel chatted some more. Buffy relayed the story of how Xander got possessed by a hyena spirit last week, then asked Angel if he had ever come across possession himself. It turned out he had come across it a few times. Buffy then told Angel that the school was getting a new principal. She was going to miss Mr Flutie a bit; he had been relatively nice to her. Buffy then asked Angel what his teachers had been like when he was at school. Angel said they were okay.

As Angel walked away after having said goodnight, Buffy thought over the evening in her mind. It had been fun even though Angel's answers to her questions had tended to be vague. But Buffy didn't mind. She just liked that she was finally getting to know her mystery man.


End file.
